The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Countless flames shot into the sky, turning the night sky crimson.

Several crossbow bolts with grappling hooks were fired at the fleeing carriage, but they were all blocked by an invisible force.

"It's really difficult."

Several nobles on a distant hillside were using Eagle Eye to observe everything happening on the main road.

"Don't rush. After all, the other party is the ruler of the North. It's normal for them to have some trump cards."

"But if this continues, it will be dawn soon. They are too strong. They have been on the run for almost a whole night."

The demon beside him opened his pocket watch and retorted, "To be precise, it's four hours."

"Four hours! A full four hours!"

The nobleman who started said anxiously, "Do you know what will happen if old Lars returns to his Winterhold? He will immediately know that his beloved grandson has been attacked by us, and that we are not only cooperating with the royal family, but also in cahoots with you snakes."

"In fact, Grand Duke Lars already knows this."

The demon looked at the elite demon cavalry closely following the human cavalry in the distance.

"Moreover, you humans are quite self-aware. Attacking your own nephew and then your own father certainly makes you a snake and a rat. But we demons are different. We demons are much nobler than you, so don't use snakes and rats to describe us."

"Humph!"

The nobleman snorted and continued:

"If he gets away, you might be fine, but I'll be dead!"

The demon continued unhurriedly, "That's right, and you'll die without a burial place. Once Grand Duke Lars returns to his residence, his immense prestige will allow him to immediately bring you back to your original state after you occupied your nephew's territory. Right now, we can only launch an attack simultaneously to eliminate your father and your nephew and niece to ensure that you are the only remaining heirs of the Lars family."

"You know this, so why don't you send more people?"

“I told you there’s no need to rush. You know your Lars family is known for producing knights, and they’re all as tough as turtles. They’re not so easy to take down. That’s why we chose to wait here.”

The demons looked at the carriage guarded by a squad of knights and marveled at how wealthy humans were. In the past four hours, the carriage had used no fewer than ten mithril-grade magical items, and oxalis-grade items were being thrown out like they were free. Even with a long interception army deployed and countless traps and magical items prepared, the carriage still managed to escape to this place.

The opponent even used a crystal-level magical item to silence all the magic in an entire area, which almost allowed them to escape.

Fortunately, the other side did not have any spatial magic items, and shadow magic was not something the Lars family was good at; otherwise, the people on the hillside would not have been so bold as to intercept and kill a grand duke of the kingdom.

Grand Duke Lars, panting heavily, thought the best course of action now was to carry Ruby, mount the finest warhorse, and lead an elite squad in a surprise attack.

But that would mean abandoning the carriage's defensive magic and most of its magical items.

Duke Lars had already tried this once before when using a crystal-level magic item, sending out a squad of elite knights to try to break through, but the enemy's preparations were too thorough, and even the most elite knight squad had difficulty breaking through the encirclement.

The enemy was coming on strong, and Grand Duke Lars had no confidence that he could lead Ruby out of the encirclement. After all, the enemy had used crystal-level magic items before, and most importantly, the enemy did not seem to intend to leave any survivors.

Seeing the kingdom's magic legions mingling with the green-skinned demons, even a slow-witted Duke like Reina could understand what was happening.

What disappointed Grand Duke Lars the most was that he saw many knights using the Lars battle formation in the melee.

Sean's territory has most likely fallen. Although he was mentally prepared, at this moment, Grand Duke Lars truly became a dejected old man in his seventies.

How far are we from Winterhold?

Grand Duke Lars, maintaining his knightly stance, fended off the stray arrows while simultaneously asking the steward, who was driving the carriage, a question.

Of course, this question is actually meaningless. Grand Duke Lars had just left the Central Territory and the border between the North and Grenfell Castle when it was attacked. Even if he rode at full speed all night, he could not possibly reach Winterhold.

Asking this question was more about Grand Duke Lars trying to give up on the idea.

"I'm afraid it's too late, sir."

Even amidst the barrage of crossbow bolts and magic, the heavy breathing could be clearly heard. Looking at Ruby trembling inside the carriage, Grand Duke Lars seemed to have made up his mind.

"Grandpa, am I going to be arrested again?"

Ruby hugged her teddy bear tightly, huddled in a corner of the huge carriage.

"When we go out later, you must listen to what Grandpa Butler says, okay?"

Grand Duke Lars tenderly stroked his youngest granddaughter.

Four hours of fierce fighting left Grand Duke Lars utterly exhausted; his hair was disheveled, and he looked noticeably thinner.

At this time, Grand Duke Lars was no longer the powerful lord of the North he once was; he was more like an old man in his twilight years.

The elderly man picked up his granddaughter and hid her inside his robe. He then calmly went to the carriage and mounted the other warhorse that was pulling the carriage.

"Sebastian, how many years have we known each other?"

"It seems like it's been fifty years, sir, or fifty-two years, I can't remember."

During the conversation, Ruby appeared in the old butler's arms without anyone noticing, while only a small teddy bear remained under Grand Duke Lars's robe.

"I need to teach my rebellious sons a lesson. You take Ruby and head west to seek refuge with the elves, understand?"

Decades of tacit understanding immediately made the old butler understand the Duke's thoughts, and he nodded silently.

The two men immediately cut the harness of the carriage in perfect unison, and with a squeeze of their legs, they waved the reins, squeezing out the last bit of strength from their warhorses.

"Warriors of Lars, charge with me!"

With this roar, the knights whose armor had turned from pure white to somewhat charred immediately raised their weapons and shouted, "For the North!"

The enchantment systems on the weapons and armor began to operate at their limit, and for a moment the light was so bright that it was almost blinding.

Just then, the old butler took out a piece of cloth as thin as a cicada's wing and draped it over himself.

The Lars family is indeed not good at shadow magic, but they do have some shadow magic items. However, this Breathless Cloth does not have any magical effect of making people disappear on the spot. Instead, it can only reduce aura and eliminate presence. If it is used by someone who has already been targeted, it will have no effect.

But now, with a small teddy bear in his arms, Grand Duke Lars led his knights in a desperate charge, and no one noticed that an old butler had silently disappeared into the ranks of the knights with the real Ruby.

"The old man has started his breakout! Just as we predicted, he's heading towards Winterhold!"

The nobles on the hillside clapped their hands excitedly.

In this situation, there is only a glimmer of hope if we reach the territory of Winterhold. Therefore, the normal strategy is to use all our strength to break through towards Winterhold. Once we break out of the encirclement and make contact with Winterhold, the situation will be completely reversed.

This encirclement and suppression operation was also designed following this line of thinking.

But no one expected that Grand Duke Lars would send Ruby to escape to the west. In order to ensure Ruby's escape, Grand Duke Lars even left some important magical items to the old butler, so this breakout was not actually a full-scale breakout at all.

This implies that the entire North has fallen and that their attempt to break out will fail.

Everything must be considered in light of the worst-case scenario; this was the final lesson Grand Duke Lars taught his rebellious sons.